Recommendations?

[Timo2112]

So I want to spend in the neighbourhood of £200 on a new pair of binoculars. I wondered if anyone had any recommendations. I know that everyone says it's all very subjective, but I'd be interested to know opinions. I've been reading a lot about porro vs roof prism with the opinion that porro is better for the money, however there don't seem to be many porros on the market. I'd be interested in folks' opinions on that matter too...
Any advice gratefully received.

[FrankD]

I think the old adage of getting 2 to 3 times the optical performance for the price with porros (vs. roofs) generally continues to remain true. The only exception to this is the current crop of open-bridge ED bins currently on the market. There are now four models which have been receiving high praise here and on a variety of other optics related forums on the net. These models are the Atlas Optics Intrepid, the Zen Ray Zen ED, the Hawke Frontier ED and the Promaster Infiniti Elite ELX ED. I believe the Hawke model is sold on your side of the pond but I am honestly not sure what the going price is for it over there. It may be higher than your listed limit.

Having said that I would also suggest considering the internal focus porro prism Opticron model. I believe it is the WP 8x42 (if someone familiar with it could clarify this I would appreciate it). I have the Leupold version of it and find its optical performance for the price to be superb. Ergonomics are one of the best I have ever held. The combination of these two factors is one of the reasons I find myself using it over many of my other bins.

Hope this helps somewhat.

[Timo2112]

Thank you for that advice, peculiarly, the Opticron porros that you mention are, I think, precisely the ones I had been wondering about. I suppose I'd best wait for the August bird fair and do lots of testing, but it's nice to have the input and guidance, thanks.

[kristoffer]

I would not buy porros for the role as being my main bins (I assume these new will be your primary's). It is a hassle to worry about rainfall (porros aint waterproof) and I doubt anyone's birding suffer from the image the Viper, zen eds or other roof bins in that price range produce. Porros seem to be more of the connoisseur choice for dry days on the Sunday afternoon ;)

[dustyview]

Plenty of porro prism binoculars are waterproof. E.g. the Yosemites, the new Vortex/EO Raptor/Raven, the Leupold Cascades that people here think highly of, etc. If you prefer the "easy on the eyes," "expansive," "3D" view that porros provide (adjectives in quotes since I'm not sure I've seen an explanation for all components of the effect), and are willing to pay the small size penalty, there is no reason not to get them. As has recently been pointed out again in other threads, the optical quality value of porros exceeds most roof prism binoculars.

I would not buy porros for the role as being my main bins (I assume these new will be your primary's). It is a hassle to worry about rainfall (porros aint waterproof) and I doubt anyone's birding suffer from the image the Viper, zen eds or other roof bins in that price range produce. Porros seem to be more of the connoisseur choice for dry days on the Sunday afternoon ;)

[NoSpringChicken]

I would not buy porros for the role as being my main bins (I assume these new will be your primary's). It is a hassle to worry about rainfall (porros aint waterproof) and I doubt anyone's birding suffer from the image the Viper, zen eds or other roof bins in that price range produce. Porros seem to be more of the connoisseur choice for dry days on the Sunday afternoon ;)
The Opticron HR WP 8X42 porros mentioned are waterproof to 3 metres and I have seen some very good comments about their optical quality. The only criticisms I have seen about them concern the unremarkable FOV of 112 metres and close focus of 3 metres and the rather slow focusing.

Ron

[kristoffer]

Ok guys, I did not know that the new porros was watertight. I assumed it was impossible for some strange reason since the kinda expensive SE´s wasn't watertight. Sorry for that.
But with that budget of £200, does those porros really produce "better" image then the zen eds? I think they cost around £200? Not sure of the exchange rate.

[NoSpringChicken]

Ok guys, I did not know that the new porros was watertight. I assumed it was impossible for some strange reason since the kinda expensive SE´s wasn't watertight. Sorry for that.
But with that budget of £200, does those porros really produce "better" image then the zen eds? I think they cost around £200? Not sure of the exchange rate.
Zen binoculars are not generally available in the UK at the moment. The Hawke Frontier ED costs around £300 now. The Opticron HR WP porro is available for about £210. I would suggest the original poster tries them against some of Opticron's roof models such as the Explorer BGA, which Opticron themselves say is the best roof prism they have ever released under £200 (although it does have a slightly narrow FOV).

Ron

[ThoLa]

I would not buy porros for the role as being my main bins (I assume these new will be your primary's). It is a hassle to worry about rainfall (porros aint waterproof) and I doubt anyone's birding suffer from the image the Viper, zen eds or other roof bins in that price range produce. Porros seem to be more of the connoisseur choice for dry days on the Sunday afternoon ;)

there are some fully water-proof Porro binoculars,
for example
Pentax PCF WP II (wp = water proof)
Swarovski Habicht (these can easily compete with the most expensive roof prism instruments in optical terms).

So the prism configuration remains mostly a question of personal taste (and sometimes tends to be exaggerated).
T

[kristoffer]

Zen binoculars are not generally available in the UK at the moment. The Hawke Frontier ED costs around £300 now. The Opticron HR WP porro is available for about £210. I would suggest the original poster tries them against some of Opticron's roof models such as the Explorer BGA, which Opticron themselves say is the best roof prism they have ever released under £200 (although it does have a slightly narrow FOV).

Ron

Not available? I thought zen shipped worldwide. They can ship to Sweden right?

[Timo2112]

Thank you for all of your useful input and comments. It helps a lot.
I will probably do as suggested and and compare the porros with against the opticron roof prisms. I seem to be drawn towards Opticron as they seem to be good quality at a reasonable price. Very happy with the Opticron scope etc, etc.
Anyway, all should be better than my previous Prakticas (which are now 2 separate monoculars.) But wanted to do a bit of research before going to test. So thank you all, tack så myket and danke.

[NoSpringChicken]

Not available? I thought zen shipped worldwide. They can ship to Sweden right?
Sorry. By 'not generally available' I meant that they are not stocked by many, if any, UK retail shops, where you can see them, try them and purchase them from stock.

Ron

[kristoffer]

Sorry. By 'not generally available' I meant that they are not stocked by many, if any, UK retail shops, where you can see them, try them and purchase them from stock.

Ron

Oh ok. I understand you. I am of a different breed, I trust general opinions and buy the stuff people like without trying it if the price/performance ratio is good enough. It worked with the viper and the swaro ats65. Lets pray it continues this way :)

[FrankD]

If you do decide to give those Opticron internal focus porros a try then please do share your thoughts. I find myself using the Leupold equivalent of them more and more often these days. The ergonomics and optical quality combination is hard not to like.

...but, yes, the field of view could be wider. ;)

[Veracocha]

For sure try the Hawke Frontiers, these can be had for around £280-300. At the Midland Bird fair recently I went through the entire range of Opticron binoculars and without trying to put a damper on things they were a country mile behind the Hawke's for image quality. In fact, there were very few of any brand there that I thought gave a better image.

[falcondude]

Not available? I thought zen shipped worldwide. They can ship to Sweden right?

according to zen-ray's website, they ship to all EU countries, Australia, New Zealand. You may want to email them to ask to confirm first